Colorful Conservation for the Rainbow Boa

The Turks and Caicos rainbow boa is found only in the Turks and Caicos Islands and adjacent southern Bahama Islands. Very little is published or known about this small, cryptic, constricting snake. It can reach six feet in length, but specimens this size are very rare and the average adult size is slightly less than three feet.

Due to its small size, extremely docile temperament, and beautiful rainbow-like sheen, the species was heavily collected for the pet trade in the 1970’s raising concern for its survival in the wild.

The species occurs on most of the large islands in the Turks and Caicos, although often in low numbers, but it is absent from nearly all of the smaller islands suggesting populations require a minimum of a few square miles to persist.

Unfortunately, most of the larger islands are inhabited by humans, and boa populations on these islands are threatened by habitat destruction and introduced predators, including rats, cats, and dogs.

The most dense (and perhaps largest) population of Turks and Caicos rainbow boas occurs on Big Ambergris Cay, an island of approximately two and half square miles on the east edge of the Caicos Bank. Big Ambergris was uninhabited and pristine until recently.

However, it is privately owned and currently undergoing extensive development. Plans for Big Ambergris include 450 home sites, an international airport, and a marina to accommodate 200-foot luxury yachts.

The extent of development is unfortunate but presents an excellent opportunity to study the impacts of development on Turks and Caicos rainbow boas.

Although the boa project just began this year, sixty boas have already been captured, measured, marked with PIT tags, and released as part of a mark-recapture study.

In addition, preparations are being made to radio-track snakes to document their daily and seasonal movements, habitat preferences, diet, reproduction, and sources of mortality.

The information gathered will be used to make informed conservation and management recommendations for Big Ambergris and other islands where the species occurs.